London based Asia House is launching its ‘Festival of Asian Literature’ this month, hosting an array of writers including Ziauddin Sardar, Kenan Malik, Pankaj Mishra and Hardeep Singh Kohli.

The UK based festival is dedicated to writing about Asia and and the best of writing across a broad spectrum of Asian countries. It will feature a series of talks, debates and discussions.

The schedule
7 May – Tash Aw – Map of the Invisible World – Book Launch

9 May – Children’s Event: A Barefoot Book of Indian Tales

11 May – Opening Night: An Evening of Music and Literature with Amit Chaudhuri (The Immortals), Pankaj Mishra, Sir Mark Tully and music by Amit himself

12 May – British Asians – A Force for Change – Ziauddin Sardar (Balti Britain) and Kenan Malik (Fatwa to Jihad – The Rushdie Affair and its Legacy)

13 May – Alice Albinia – Empires of the Indus

14 May – China in the 21st Century – John Man (The Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan) and Martin Jacques (When China Rules the World)

16 May – Children’s Event- Guo Yue – Little Leap Forward: A Boy in Beijing

18 May – Politics and Place in Fiction – Kamila Shamsie Burnt Shadows), Nadeem Aslam ( The Wasted Vigil), and Daniyal Mueenuddin (In Other Rooms, Other Wonders) – moderated by Tahmima Anam

19 May – Frank Gardner -Far Horizons –the BBC security correspondent in conversation with Lyse Doucet about his adventures in Indonesia

20 May – Terrorism & War in Central Asia – Panel Discussion David Loyn Patrick Cockburn Christina Lamb -with BBC Foreign Affairs Editor John Simpson

21 May – Nirmalya Kumar – India’s Global Powerhouses – How They are Taking on the World

22 May – Hardeep Singh Kohli – Indian Takeaway – One Man’s Attempt to Cook His Way Home

See the Asia House website for more information.